Post 1,458 – Pascack Valley 27 Old Tappan 21

Pascack Valley 27 Old Tappan 21 

October 25, 2024 

Pascack Valley beat Old Tappan, 27-21, in a battle of next-door neighbors. It was Old Tappan’s first loss of the season, while Pascack Valley also has one loss this year. 

First Quarter: Old Tappan came out with the ball, picked up a first down, and was forced to punt. Valley started on their 24 and picked up 9 and 10 yards on passes to Colin McMorrow and Kai Smith. Adam Shaw picked up 28 yards on a quarterback keeper and connected with Marc Dellaquila for a 23-yard touchdown two plays later for a 7-0 lead. Old Tappan consumed nearly seven minutes on the following drive, starting with a 9-yard pass from Zachary Miceli to Alex Orecchio, followed by a 24-yard run by Nick Rossi to the 50. Old Tappan committed the first of four uncharacteristic penalties for them on this drive and they overcame it, starting with a 23-yard pass to Shane Small to the PV 36. Miceli ran 12 yards to the 15, followed by two penalties that brought them back to the 30. A 10-yard pass to Orecchio and a Valley penalty brought the ball to the 10 and Orecchio ran for a 9-yard score two plays later to tie the game. 

Second Quarter: Valley came right back, starting with a 14-yard run by Shaw to the 50. On fourth down on the OT 43, Shaw ran 19 yards to the 24 and found Colin Krause for 9 yards to the 12 on fourth-and-7, before running for the score on the following play to retake the lead, 14-7. Old Tappan started on their 20 and picked up 10 yards on a Miceli pass to Devin Radoian. OT ended up punting and Valley had the ball on their 46. Kevin Regula ran 10 yards and Shaw connected with Dante DaCosta two plays later for 20 yards. Regula returned with a 17-yard run for a first-and-goal on the 7 and Shaw found him two plays later on the left sideline for an 8-yard touchdown. The extra point failed and it was 20-7 with five minutes left. Radoian ran for 17 yards to the 41 for OT and Miceli ran 15 yards to the Valley 42. Miceli then found Orecchio for 12 yards and Joe Crescitelli caught a 10-yard pass. The drive ended with Ronan Malady catching an 18-yard touchdown pass in the end zone with five seconds left to narrow the score to 21-14. 

Third Quarter: Valley came out with the ball on their 39 and drove down the field. Two Shaw runs brought the ball to the OT 45. Shaw found DaCosta on third down for 16 yards to the 29. Shaw ran for a touchdown on the following play, but a penalty brought the ball back to the 40, followed by another that brought them back to the 45. Shaw hit McMorrow for 14 yards and a 25-yard completion to Dellaquila went for 25 yards for a first-and-goal on the 6 with missed tackles contributing to that play. Regula went 4 yards and Shaw made it to the 1, but fumbled with Jack Horgan recovering for Old Tappan. The Golden Knights methodically moved the ball, getting as far as the Valley 45. But a fourth down pass sailed over the head of an open Small and Valley had the ball, one minute into the fourth quarter. 

Fourth Quarter: Regula carried four straight times to the OT 37 and a 16-yard pass to DaCosta gave them a first down on the 21. Regula went 16 yards for a first-and-goal on the 5 and Kai Smith scored on the following play for a 27-14 lead with 7:38 left. Old Tappan wasn’t finished. Two completions to Radoian and Orecchio brought the ball to their 48. The Golden Knights were in hurry-up mode – passes were completed to Radoian, Orecchio, Small, Malady, and again Orecchio gave OT a first-and-goal on the 1. Kai Smith beautifully broke up a pass in the end zone and Orecchio scored on the following play to make it 27-21 with 3:47 left.  Valley had the ball on their 10 and two Regula runs picked up 9 yards. Shaw was stopped for no gain and the Indians went for it on fourth-and-1 with Regula gaining 4 yards. Regula gained 23 yards on the next two plays before Valley took a knee. 

 Comments: Valley scored on four of their six drive, not including a knee when they took possession with 12 seconds left in the first half. The other drives ended with a fumble by Shaw on the 1-yard line and taking a knee after picking up first downs to end the game. Shaw has established himself as one of the area’s top dual-threat quarterbacks and possibly one of the state’s. He was 11-14-156-2 passing and rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. This is the second straight week I have seen him and the first is impressive and the second is the exclamation point. Regula rushed for 108 yards and his one reception went for an 8-yard score. His running in the fourth quarter accounted for 75 yards and helped Valley keep the ball away from Old Tappan while eating up the clock.  

While Valley was impressive, Old Tappan was flat at times. Their four penalties on one drive were very unusual for them. When a team uses more than one quarterback, it is hard to keep track of who is throwing the ball and I am guilty tonight on this. I know Orecchio was constantly making plays, whether at wide receiver, as a quarterback, or as a running back. It is not the end for the Golden Knights – the playoffs begin next week and it would not surprise me if these teams meet again. 

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